Systems and methods for using a caption device with a mobile device

ABSTRACT

A communication system including a caption device and a mobile device configured to engage in communication with each other. The caption device is configured to receive a text signal originating at a relay service, the text signal corresponding to a far-end voice signal originating at a far-end device. The caption device is configured to display text corresponding to the text signal on a display. The relay service is configured to receive the far-end voice signal, and transmit the text signal to the caption device. The mobile device is configured to receive the far-end voice signal, and transmit the far-end voice signal to the relay service. A method of facilitating a captioned conversation between a far-end user and a near-end user having a caption device includes establishing communication between a caption device and a mobile device, and between the caption device and a relay service.

FIELD

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to systems and methods forusing a caption device with a mobile device. More particularly, thepresent disclosure relates to using a caption device for the hearingimpaired for captioning a call.

BACKGROUND

Communication devices for the hearing-impaired have been developed. Suchcommunication devices may include a text-captioned phone with amplifiedaudio, and text captioning services. As a result, hearing-impaired usersthat have at least some hearing capabilities may participate in theconversation by listening and speaking The text-captioned phone alsoenables hearing-impaired users to read a text caption of at least partof the conversation.

Hearing-impaired individuals often have access to communication devicesfor the hearing-impaired. Hearing-impaired individuals may also ownmobile phones. Mobile phones offer many conveniences, including portableaudio communications. Individuals with significant hearing loss,however, may not communicate effectively with conventional mobile phonesbecause conventional mobile phones are typically not loud enough forhearing-impaired individuals. In addition, conventional mobile phonesare not typically configured to provide text-captioning services. When auser is engaged in a call on a mobile phone, however, the user mayprefer to use a caption device that communicates with a relay service.It may be inconvenient to end the call on the mobile phone, and initiatea second call with the caption device.

BRIEF SUMMARY

In some embodiments, the present disclosure comprises a communicationsystem. The communication system comprises a caption device. The captiondevice is configured to establish communication with a mobile device,receive a text signal originating at a relay service, the text signalcorresponding to a transcript of a far-end voice signal originating at afar-end device, and display a text caption corresponding to the textsignal on a display of the caption device.

In some embodiments, the present disclosure comprises a method offacilitating a captioned conversation between a far-end user and anear-end user having a caption device. The method comprises establishingcommunication between the caption device and a mobile device, andestablishing communication between the caption device and a relayservice for communicating a text signal between the relay service andthe caption device. The text signal comprising a text transcriptcorresponding to a far-end voice signal transmitted to the mobile devicefrom a far-end device.

In some embodiments, the present disclosure comprises a communicationsystem including a relay service. The relay service is receive a far-endvoice signal from at least one of a caption device and a mobile devicewhile the caption device and the mobile device are in communication witheach other. The far-end voice signal originates at a far-end device in acall with the mobile device. The relay service is further configured totransmit a text signal comprising a text transcript corresponding to atleast the far-end voice signal to the caption device.

In some embodiments, the present disclosure comprises a mobile device.The mobile device is configured to establish communication with acaption device, receive a far-end voice signal originating at a far-enddevice, and transmit the far-end voice signal to a relay serviceconfigured to generate a text signal comprising a text transcriptcorresponding to the far-end voice signal.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a simplified block diagram of a communication system accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a simplified block diagram of a communication system accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a simplified block diagram of a communication system accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a simplified block diagram of a communication system accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a simplified block diagram of a caption device according to anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a simplified perspective view of a caption device according toan embodiment of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 7 is a simplified flowchart illustrating a method of facilitating acaptioned conversation between a far-end user and a near-end user havinga caption device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description, reference is made to theaccompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which is shown byway of illustration, specific embodiments in which the presentdisclosure may be practiced. These embodiments are described insufficient detail to enable those of ordinary skill in the art topractice the present disclosure. It should be understood, however, thatthe detailed description and the specific examples, while indicatingexamples of embodiments of the present disclosure, are given by way ofillustration only and not by way of limitation. From this disclosure,various substitutions, modifications, additions, rearrangements, orcombinations thereof within the scope of the present disclosure may bemade and will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art.

In accordance with common practice, the various features illustrated inthe drawings may not be drawn to scale. The illustrations presentedherein are not meant to be actual views of any particular apparatus(e.g., device, system, etc.) or method, but are merely idealizedrepresentations that are employed to describe various embodiments of thepresent disclosure. Accordingly, the dimensions of the various featuresmay be arbitrarily expanded or reduced for clarity. In addition, some ofthe drawings may be simplified for clarity. Thus, the drawings may notdepict all of the components of a given apparatus or all operations of aparticular method.

Information and signals described herein may be represented using any ofa variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data,instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chipsthat may be referenced throughout the description may be represented byvoltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles,optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof. Some drawingsmay illustrate signals as a single signal for clarity of presentationand description. It should be understood by a person of ordinary skillin the art that the signal may represent a bus of signals, wherein thebus may have a variety of bit widths and the present disclosure may beimplemented on any number of data signals including a single datasignal.

The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, andalgorithm acts described in connection with embodiments disclosed hereinmay be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, orcombinations of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability ofhardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules,circuits, and acts are described generally in terms of theirfunctionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware,software, or a combination thereof, depends upon the particularapplication and design constraints imposed on the overall system.Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varyingways for each particular application, but such implementation decisionsshould not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of theembodiments of the disclosure described herein.

In addition, it is noted that the embodiments may be described in termsof a process that is depicted as a flowchart, a flow diagram, astructure diagram, or a block diagram. Although a flowchart may describeoperational acts as a sequential process, many of these acts can beperformed in another sequence, in parallel, or substantiallyconcurrently. In addition, the order of the acts may be re-arranged. Aprocess may correspond to a method, a function, a procedure, asubroutine, a subprogram, etc. Furthermore, the methods disclosed hereinmay be implemented in hardware, software, or both. If implemented insoftware, the functions may be stored or transmitted as one or moreinstructions (e.g., software code) on a computer-readable medium.Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media andcommunication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of acomputer program from one place to another.

It should be understood that any reference to an element herein using adesignation such as “first,” “second,” and so forth does not limit thequantity or order of those elements, unless such limitation isexplicitly stated. Rather, these designations may be used herein as aconvenient method of distinguishing between two or more elements orinstances of an element. Thus, a reference to first and second elementsdoes not mean that only two elements may be employed there or that thefirst element must precede the second element in some manner. Also,unless stated otherwise a set of elements may comprise one or moreelements.

Elements described herein may include multiple instances of the sameelement. These elements may be generically indicated by a numericaldesignator (e.g., 110). For ease of following the description, for themost part, element number indicators begin with the number of thedrawing on which the elements are introduced or most fully discussed.Thus, for example, element identifiers on a FIG. 1 will be mostly in thenumerical format 1xx and elements on a FIG. 4 will be mostly in thenumerical format 4xx.

Embodiments of the present disclosure include systems and methods forusing a caption device for mobile communication. Embodiments of thepresent disclosure are generally described herein with reference tocaptioning mobile communication for the hearing impaired. It should benoted, however, that embodiments of the present disclosure may includeany application or environment where captioning audio from a mobilecommunication device is desirable. For example, it is contemplated thatembodiments of the present disclosure may include captioning audio orvideo streams received by the mobile communication device forhearing-impaired or hearing-capable users.

Although the term “real-time” is used throughout the description for thehearing-impaired user to hear the far-end voice and view thecorresponding caption during a conversation, it is recognized that theremay be at least some delay. Thus, the term “real-time” does not requirethat there is no delay.

FIG. 1 is a simplified block diagram of a communication system 100according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The communicationsystem 100 may include a caption device 102, a mobile communicationdevice 104 (also referred to herein as “mobile device 104”), a far-enddevice 106, a relay service 108, and one or more networks 110 (sometimesreferred to herein as “the networks 110”). The communication system 100may facilitate communication between at least two users wherein at leastone of users is using the caption device 102 and another user is usingthe far-end device 106. At least one of the users may be ahearing-impaired (e.g., hard of hearing) user who desires to listen tothe conversation with the assistance of the caption device 102. Thus,the hearing-impaired user of the caption device 102 may have at leastsome hearing and speaking capabilities. The caption device 102 mayenable the hearing-impaired user to participate in the conversation(e.g., speaking and listening), as well as to read a text caption of atleast a portion of the conversation. For example, the relay service 108may generate a transcript of at least the far-end user's side of theconversation. The relay service 108 may transmit the transcript to thecaption device 102 to be displayed on the caption device 102 as acaption during the conversation. As a result, the hearing-impaired usermay be able to view, in real-time, the words spoken by the far-end userduring the conversation. The far-end user may be a hearing-capable userusing a conventional communication device having no captioningcapabilities. In some embodiments, the far-end user may be anotherhearing-impaired user communicating with their own caption device. Forexample, the far-end device 106 may be a caption device that is alsoconfigured to communicate with the relay service 108 to receive a texttranscript of the near-end user's side of the conversation to bedisplayed as a caption during the conversation.

Some hearing-impaired users may also have a mobile device 104 that theymay use to communicate with others. Typically, the mobile device 104 andthe caption device 102 have different identification numbers (e.g.,phone number, IP address, etc.). Thus, the far-end user may attempt toreach the hearing-impaired user by calling either the mobile device 104or the caption device 102. Conventional mobile device 104 may not havecaptioning capabilities. Thus, if the far-end user calls the mobiledevice 104 (or if the hearing-impaired user calls out from the mobiledevice 104), the hearing-impaired user may have a “voice only” call thatis not supplemented with captioning services.

The mobile device 104 may be further configured to establishcommunication between the caption device 102 and the mobile device 104during a call between the mobile device 104 and the far-end device 106.As a result, a call between the far-end device 106 and the mobile device104 may utilize the captioning capabilities of the caption device 102and the relay service 108 even if the mobile device 104 itself is notconfigured for captioning. Some embodiments may include the mobiledevice 104 having captioning capabilities, but the hearing-impaired usermay nevertheless desire to utilize the caption device 102 for captioninga call with the mobile device 104.

In some embodiments, the caption device 102 may be configured tocommunicate with the mobile device 104 through a wireless protocol, suchas, for example, Bluetooth, ZigBee, Wi-Fi, other suitable protocols, andcombinations thereof. In some embodiments, the caption device 102 may beconfigured to pair with the mobile device 104 without modifying themobile device 104. In some embodiments, the mobile device 104 may bemodified with application software configured to enable communicationbetween the mobile device 104 and the caption device 102 through atleast one of Bluetooth, ZigBee, Wi-Fi, and other wireless protocols.

In some embodiments, the caption device 102 may be configured toestablish and terminate communication between the caption device 102 andthe mobile device 104. Establishing the communication may occurresponsive to a user input of the caption device 102. For example, thecaption device 102 may present a “sync” option that the user may select.The sync option may be a sync button on the caption device 102, or async option displayed on a graphical user interface by the captiondevice 102. The caption device 102 may detect the presence of the mobiledevice 102 (e.g., having already been paired together previously) anddisplay that syncing is available between the mobile device 104 and thecaption device 102. In operation, the caption device 102 may establishcommunication with the mobile device 104 responsive to detecting aselection of the sync option. While the caption device 102 and themobile device 104 are synced, the captioning of the conversation may bedisplayed on the caption device 102.

In some embodiments, the mobile device 104 may be configured toestablish and terminate communication between the caption device 102 andthe mobile device 104. Establishing the communication may occurresponsive to a user input of the mobile device 104. For example, themobile device 104 may present a “sync” option that the user may select.The mobile device 104 may be modified by application software to causethe mobile device 104 to display the sync option on a graphical userinterface of the mobile device 104. In operation, the mobile device 104may establish or terminate communication with the caption device 102responsive to detecting a selection of the sync option.

In some embodiments, both the caption device 102 and the mobile device104 may be configured to establish communication between the captiondevice 102 and the mobile device 104. In some embodiments, the captiondevice 102 and the mobile device 104 may sync automatically without userinput when their presence is recognized.

The user may desire to use the audio devices (e.g., speaker, microphone)of the caption device 102 during sync mode rather than the audio devicesof the mobile device 104. The near-end user may speak into a microphone516, 616 (FIGS. 5 and 6) of the caption device 102, and listen to audiofrom a speaker 518, 618 (FIGS. 5 and 6) of the caption device 102.During this time, the mobile device 104 may disable its microphone andspeaker. In some embodiments, the near end user may desire to use theaudio devices of the mobile device 104 during sync mode. In such anembodiment, the near-end user may speak into a microphone of the mobiledevice 104 and listen to audio from a speaker of the mobile device 104.During this time, the caption device 102 may disable its microphone 516,616 and speaker 518, 618. In either of these embodiments, the captioningof the conversation may be displayed on the caption device 102.

Either of the caption device 102 and the mobile device 104 may alsoterminate communication between the caption device 102 and the mobiledevice 104 while the mobile device 104 and the caption device 102 aresynced. Terminating communication between the caption device 102 and themobile device 104 may be responsive to the user un-selecting the syncoption.

If the caption device 102 and the mobile device 104 are no longer issync mode, captioning of communications from the mobile device 104through the caption device 102 may be disabled. In some embodiments, thecall may continue between the far-end device and the mobile device 104.The mobile device 104 may be free to re-sync with the caption device102, to sync with another caption device 102, or continue withoutcaptioning. In some embodiments, exiting sync mode may terminate thecall (i.e., end communication between the far-end device 106 and themobile device 104). Other user inputs to the mobile device 104, thecaption device 102, and combinations thereof, may also terminate thecall.

In some embodiments, communication between the caption device 102 andthe mobile device 104 may be established by operably coupling thecaption device 102 to the mobile device 104 with a cable. Thus, thecaption device 102 and the mobile device 104 may enter sync mode throughmethods other than wireless coupling. By way of non-limiting example,the caption device 102 may be configured to communicate with the mobiledevice 104 through a digital cable (e.g., a universal serial bus (USB)cable, Firewire cable, or Thunderbolt cable). Also by way ofnon-limiting example, the caption device 102 may be configured tocommunicate with the mobile device 104 through an analog cable, such asan analog audio cable. In some embodiments, communication between thecaption device 102 and the mobile device 104 may be terminated bydisconnecting the cable between caption device 102 and the mobile device104. The mobile device 104 may be free to re-sync with the captiondevice 102, to sync another caption device 102, continue withoutcaptioning, or terminate the call.

In some embodiments, communication may be established between the mobiledevice 104 and the caption device 102 prior to a call between the mobiledevice 104 and the far-end device 106. For example, the mobile device104 and the caption device 102 may be synced even before a call isplaced. Thus, at least one of the caption device 102 and the mobiledevice 104 may enable the near-end user to receive an incoming callfrom, and place an outgoing call to, the far-end device 106 duringcommunication between the caption device 102 and the mobile device 104.In such an embodiment, an incoming call from the far-end device 106 tothe mobile device 104 may simply be routed to the caption device 102automatically prior to the hearing-impaired user answers the call. Insome embodiments, the caption device 102 and the call to the mobiledevice 104 may be answered with the caption device 102.

The relay service 108 may include a service that provides avoice-to-text translation (e.g., transcription) service. The relayservice 108 may be configured to communicate with at least one of thecaption device 102 and the mobile device 104 through the networks 110.The relay service 108 may be configured to generate a transcript of thefar-end voice signal. In operation, the relay service 108 may beconfigured to receive the far-end voice signal originating at thefar-end device 106 through the networks 110. The far-end voice signalmay be transmitted to the relay service 108 by at least one of thecaption device 102, the mobile device 104, and the far-end device 106directly.

In some embodiments, the relay service may include speech recognitionsoftware for generating the transcript of at least the far-end voicesignal. In some embodiments, a call assistant at the relay service 108may listen to the speech corresponding to the far-end voice signal, andrespeak (e.g., revoice) the content of the speech for the speechrecognition software. In some embodiments, the call assistant listeningto the speech corresponding to the voice signals may generate thetranscript by typing text corresponding to the speech. In someembodiments, the far-end voice signal may be applied directly to thespeech recognition software to generate the transcript of the voicesignals.

The relay service 108 may transmit the transcript (e.g., as a textsignal) to the caption device 102. In some embodiments, the text signalmay be sent from the relay service 108 to the caption device 102directly (through the networks 110). In some embodiments, the textsignal may be sent from the relay service 108 to the caption device 102through the mobile device 104.

The caption device 102 may be configured to receive the text signal anddisplay the transcript of the far-end voice signal on a display 520(FIG. 5) for the hearing-impaired user to read during the conversation.

The far-end device 106 may be a communication device configured to sendand receive audio signals through the networks 110. The far-end device106 may be configured to convert audio energy comprising speech from auser of the far-end device 106 into a far-end voice signal, and send thefar-end voice signal to the mobile device 104. The far-end device 106may include a telephone, a mobile phone, a text captioned phone, a videophone, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, othersuitable communication device, and combinations thereof.

The networks 110 may be configured to enable communications between thefar-end device 106 and the mobile device 104. As non-limiting examples,the networks 110 may include an internet protocol (IP) network, publicswitched telephone networks (PSTNs), cellular phone networks, othersimilar networks, and combinations thereof. The network 110 may includea wide area network (WAN), a local area network (LAN), a personal areanetwork (PAN), and combinations thereof. In some embodiments, thenetworks 110 may include a cloud network. The networks 110 may beconfigured to enable communications with the mobile device 104, thefar-end device 106, the relay service 108, and in some embodiments, thecaption device 102 wirelessly, through a cable, and combinationsthereof. Some non-limiting examples of suitable wireless communicationsmay include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and other wireless networks. Somenon-limiting examples of suitable cables include fiber-optic cables,coaxial cables, traditional telephone cables, and Ethernet cables.

FIG. 2 is a simplified block diagram of a communication system 200according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The communicationsystem 200 may include a caption device 202, a mobile device 204, afar-end device 206, a relay service 208, and one or more networks 210.These elements may be similar to the caption device 102, the mobiledevice 104, the far-end device 106, the relay service 108, and thenetworks 110 of the communication system 100 of FIG. 1.

In operation, a communication session may be established between thefar-end user (e.g., through far-end device 206) and the near-end user(e.g., through the mobile device 204). For example, the far-end user maycall the near-end user's mobile device 204 or vice versa. The far-enddevice 206 may convert acoustic energy corresponding to far-end speechfrom a far-end user to a far-end voice signal FEV. The far-end device206 may transmit the far-end voice signal FEV through the networks 210to the mobile device 204.

If the mobile device 204 is not in communication with the caption device202, the mobile device 204 may convert the far-end voice signal FEV toacoustic energy. The mobile device 204 may also convert acoustic energycorresponding to near-end speech from a near-end user to a near-endvoice signal NEV. The mobile device 204 may transmit the near-end voicesignal NEV to the far-end device 206. If there is no communicationbetween the mobile device 204 and the caption device 202, the captiondevice 202 and the relay service 208 may not be utilized. Thus, themobile device 204 and the far-end device 206 may simply communicate witheach other without the caption device 202 supplementing the conversationwith a text caption on its display.

The near-end user, however, may desire to supplement the conversationwith a text caption corresponding to the far-end speech. Communicationmay be established between the mobile device 204 and the caption device202 so that the near-end user may use the caption device 202 to displaythe text caption. As discussed above, the communication path may beestablished wirelessly (e.g., Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, etc.) or through aphysical connection (e.g., cable).

If the mobile device 204 is in communication with the caption device202, the mobile device 204 may route the far-end voice signal FEV to thecaption device 202. The caption device 202 may receive the far-end voicesignal FEV from the mobile device 204. The caption device 202 maytransmit the far-end voice signal FEV to the relay service 208 throughthe networks 210. The relay service 208 may receive the far-end voicesignal FEV, and generate a transcript comprising text corresponding tothe far-end voice signal FEV. As discussed above, the transcript may begenerated with the assistance of a call assistant, voice recognitionsoftware, and combinations thereof. The relay service 208 may transmit atext signal TEXT comprising the text corresponding to the far-end voicesignal FEV to the caption device 202. The caption device 202 may displaythe text caption corresponding to the far-end speech during theconversation.

In some embodiments, the near-end user may desire to use the captiondevice 202 for both the audio and text. For example, the near-end usermay use the audio elements of the caption device 202 rather than theaudio elements of the mobile device 204. Thus, the caption device 202may convert the far-end voice signal FEV to acoustic energy thatproduces sound for the near-end user to hear. In addition, the captiondevice 202 may convert acoustic energy corresponding to near-end speechto a near-end voice signal NEV. During this time, the microphone andspeaker of the mobile device 204 may be disabled. The caption device 202may transmit the near-end voice signal NEV to the mobile device 204. Themobile device 204 may receive the near-end voice signal NEV, andtransmit the near-end voice signal NEV to the far-end device 206. Thus,in the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the mobile device 204 may be used toroute the far-voice signal FEV and the near-end voice signal NEV betweenthe far-end device 206 and the caption device 202. The caption device202 may split the far-end voice signal FEV to be transmitted to therelay service 208 as well as transmitted to the speaker of the captiondevice 202.

In some embodiments, the near-end user may desire to use the mobiledevice 204 for the audio portion of the conversation and the captiondevice for the caption portion of the conversation. For example, thenear-end user may use the audio elements of the mobile device 204 ratherthan the audio elements of the caption device 202. Thus, the mobiledevice 204 may convert the far-end voice signal FEV to acoustic energythat produces sound for the near-end user to hear. In addition, themobile device 204 may convert acoustic energy corresponding to near-endspeech to a near-end voice signal NEV. During this time, the microphoneand speaker of the caption device 202 may be disabled. The mobile device204 may transmit the near-end voice signal NEV to the far-end device206. Thus, in such an embodiment, the mobile device 204 may be used toroute the far-end voice signal FEV from the far-end device 206 to thecaption device 202. The caption device 202 may split the far-end voicesignal FEV to be transmitted to the relay service 208 as well astransmitted to the speaker of the caption device 202.

FIG. 3 is a simplified block diagram of a communication system 300according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The communicationsystem 300 may include a caption device 302, a mobile device 304, afar-end device 306, a relay service 308, and the one or more networks310. These elements may be similar to the caption device 102, the mobiledevice 104, the far-end device 106, the relay service 108, and thenetworks 110 of the communication system 100 of FIG. 1.

In operation, a communication session may be established between thefar-end user (e.g., through far-end device 306) and the near-end user(e.g., through the mobile device 304). For example, the far-end user maycall the near-end user's mobile device 304 or vice versa. The far-enddevice 306 may convert acoustic energy corresponding to far-end speechfrom a far-end user to a far-end voice signal FEV. The far-end device306 may transmit the far-end voice signal FEV through the networks 310to the mobile device 304.

If the mobile device 304 is not in communication with the caption device302, the mobile device 304 may convert the far-end voice signal FEV toacoustic energy. The mobile device 304 may also convert acoustic energycorresponding to near-end speech from a near-end user to a near-endvoice signal NEV. The mobile device 304 may transmit the near-end voicesignal NEV to the far-end device 306. If there is no communicationbetween the mobile device 304 and the caption device 302, the captiondevice 302 and the relay service 308 may not be utilized. Thus, themobile device 304 and the far-end device 306 may simply communicate witheach other without the caption device 302 supplementing the conversationwith a text caption on its display.

If, however, the mobile device 304 is in communication with the captiondevice 302, the mobile device 304 may transmit the far-end voice signalFEV to the relay service 308. The relay service 308 may receive thefar-end voice signal FEV, and generate a transcript comprising textcorresponding to the far-end voice signal FEV. The relay service 308 maytransmit the text signal TEXT comprising the text corresponding to thefar-end voice signal FEV to the mobile device 304. The mobile device 304may receive the text signal TEXT, and transmit the text signal TEXT andthe far-end voice signal FEV to the caption device 302.

The caption device 302 may also receive the far-end voice signal FEV andthe text signal TEXT from the mobile device 304. The caption device 302may convert the far-end voice signal FEV to acoustic energy to be heardby the near-end user. The caption device 302 may also display the textcorresponding to the text signal TEXT. In addition, the caption device302 may convert acoustic energy corresponding to near-end speech to anear-end voice signal NEV. The caption device 302 may transmit thenear-end voice signal NEV to the mobile device 304. The mobile device304 may receive the near-end voice signal NEV, and transmit the near-endvoice signal NEV to the far-end device 306.

As shown in FIG. 3, the mobile device 304 may be configured to routeeach of the far-end voice signal FEV, the near-end voice signal NEV, andthe text signal TEXT to and from the caption device 302. As a result,the caption device 302 need not directly communicate through thenetworks 310, such as through a phone line, or the internet. Thus, adirect connection from the caption device 302 to an external network 310may not be required for providing captioning. Rather, the access to thenetworks 310 may be through the mobile device 304, with the captiondevice 302 merely having a local connection to the mobile device 304.The mobile device 304 may route the near-end voice NEV and far-end voiceFEV between the caption device 302 and the far-end device 306, andfurther route the far-end voice FEV and the text signal TEXT between thecaption device 302 and the relay service 308. Thus, the caption device302 may be a portable caption device that may be taken wherever thenear-end user goes. Consequently, caption services from the relayservice 308 may be provided to hearing-impaired users wherever a mobilenetwork (e.g., cellular network and/or data network) is available forthe mobile device 304 to communicate.

FIG. 4 is a simplified block diagram of a communication system 400according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The communicationsystem 400 may include a caption device 402, a mobile device 404, afar-end device 406, a relay service 408, and one or more networks 410.These elements may be similar to the caption device 102, the mobiledevice 104, the far-end device 106, the relay service 108, and thenetworks 110 of the communication system 100 of FIG. 1.

In operation, a communication session may be established between thefar-end user (e.g., through far-end device 406) and the near-end user(e.g., through the caption device 402). For example, the far-end usermay call the near-end user's caption device 402 or vice versa. Thefar-end device 406 may transmit the far-end voice signal FEV through thenetworks 410 to the caption device 402. The caption device 402 maytransmit the near-end voice signal NEV through the networks 410 to thefar-end device 406. Communication may be established between the mobiledevice 404 and the caption device 402 so that mobile device 404 mayroute signals (e.g., the far-end voice signal FEV and the text signalTEXT) between the caption device 402 and the relay service 408.

In the embodiment of FIG. 4, the caption device 402 and the far-enddevice 406 may communicate directly, whereas the caption device 402 andthe relay service 408 may communicate with each other through the mobiledevice 404. With the mobile device 404 configured to route the far-endvoice signal FEV and the text signal TEXT between the caption device 402and the relay service 408, the caption device 402 may require relativelylittle bandwidth in communicating through the networks 410 to the relayservice 408. The caption device 402 may also utilize a single connectionto an external network if the mobile device provides access to itsexternal networks.

FIG. 5 is a simplified block diagram of a caption device 502. Thecaption device 502 may include a control circuit 512 operably coupled toa transceiver 514, a microphone 516, a speaker 518, a display 520, andan input device 526. The control circuit 512 may include at least aprocessor 522 operably coupled to a memory device 524. The processor 522may comprise any of a microcontroller, a field programmable gate array(FPGA), a central processing unit (CPU), an application-specificintegrated circuit (ASIC), other processors, and combinations thereof.The processor 522 may be configured to execute machine-readable commandsstored on the memory device 524. The memory device 524 may be acomputer-readable medium, comprising any of a random access memory(RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), a Flash memory, other suitable memorydevices, and combinations thereof.

The transceiver 514 may be configured to communicate with a mobiledevice 104, 204, 304, and 404 (FIGS. 1, 2, 3, and 4). The transceiver514 may be configured to send near-end voice signals NEV to the mobiledevice 104, and receive far-end voice signals FEV originating at thefar-end device 106 from the mobile device 104. In some embodiments, thetransceiver 514 may include a wireless transceiver including an antennaconfigured to convert radio waves to electrical signals, and vice versa.By way of non-limiting example, the transceiver 514 may include aBluetooth transceiver, a Wi-Fi transceiver, other suitable wirelesstransceivers, and combinations thereof. In some embodiments, thetransceiver 514 may include a wired transceiver. By way of non-limitingexample, the transceiver 514 may include an electrical connectorconfigured to interface with a cable connector. Also by way ofnon-limiting example, the electrical connector may include a 2.5 mmsocket, a 3.5 mm socket, a USB socket, other suitable connectors, andcombinations thereof.

In some embodiments, the transceiver 514 may also be configured toreceive text signals TEXT originating at the relay service 208 from themobile device 204 wirelessly (FIG. 2), through wired communications, andcombinations thereof. In some embodiments, the transceiver 514 may beconfigured to receive the text signals TEXT from the relay service 208through the networks 210 (FIG. 2). By way of non-limiting example, thetransceiver 514 may comprise a telephone (RJ11) socket, a FireWire (IEEE1394) socket, an Ethernet (e.g., RJ45) socket, other suitable connector,and combinations thereof.

The transceiver 514 may be configured to receive the near-end voicesignal NEV from the control circuit 512, and provide the far-end voicesignal FEV and the text signal TEXT to the control circuit 512. Thecontrol circuit 512 may be configured to provide the far-end voicesignal FEV to the speaker 518, and the text signal TEXT to the display520. The control circuit 512 may receive the near-end voice signal NEVfrom the microphone 516, and provide the near-end voice signal NEV tothe transceiver 514. In some embodiments, the control circuit 512 maymodify the format of the signals FEV, NEV, TEXT. By way of non-limitingexample, the text signal TEXT received by the control circuit 512 may bea text stream, and the text signal TEXT provided to the display 520 maybe a video stream.

The microphone 516 may comprise an audio input device configured toconvert acoustic energy to electrical signals. By way of non-limitingexample, the microphone 516 may include any of a dynamic microphone, acondenser microphone, a piezoelectric device, a light modulation device,other suitable audio input devices, and combinations thereof. Themicrophone 516 may be configured to generate the near-end voice signalNEV corresponding to acoustic energy from a near-end user's speech.

The speaker 518 may comprise an audio output device configured toconvert electrical signals to acoustic energy. By way of non-limitingexample, the speaker 518 may include a dynamic loudspeaker, a multipleloudspeaker system, a coaxial driver, a headphone speaker, and othersuitable electro-acoustic transducers. In some embodiments, the speaker518 may be an amplified speaker to accommodate hearing-impaired users.The speaker 518 may be configured to receive the far-end voice signalFEV, and convert the far-end voice signal FEV to acoustic energy. Insome embodiments, the microphone 516 and the speaker 518 may optionallybe integrated together in a handset 528 or headset (not shown). In someembodiments, the microphone 516 and the speaker 518 may be integrated ina speakerphone configuration.

The display 520 may comprise an electronic display device. By way ofnon-limiting example, the display 520 may include a liquid crystaldisplay (LCD), a plasma display, a light-emitting diode (LED) array, aprojection display, a cathode ray tube (CRT) display, other suitabledisplays, a segmented display, and combinations thereof. In someembodiments, the display 520 may be implemented in a housing 630 (FIG.6) together with the control circuit 512. By way of non-limitingexample, the display 520 may comprise a screen integrated with thecaption device 502.

In some embodiments, the display 520 may be implemented separately fromthe control circuit 512. By way of non-limiting example, the display 520may be operably coupled to the caption device 502 with a video cable.The video cable may comprise a component video cable, a high-definitionmultimedia interface (HDMI) cable, a video graphics array cable, adigital visual interface (DVI) cable, a component video cable, anS-video cable, a composite video cable, a coaxial cable, other suitablecables, and combinations thereof. The display 520 may be configured toreceive and display the text signal TEXT.

The input device 526 may include a mouse, a keyboard, one or morebuttons, switches, keys, other input devices, and combinations thereof.In some embodiments, the control circuit 512 may be configured to causethe transceiver 514 to establish communication with the mobile device104 responsive to a user selecting a sync option with the input device526. By way of non-limiting example, the input device 526 may include async button that may be pressed by the user. The control circuit 512 mayalso be configured to cause the transceiver 514 to terminatecommunication with the mobile device 104 responsive to the userselecting the sync option with the input device 526. In someembodiments, the input device 526 may include a keypad for dialingtelephone numbers.

In some embodiments, the display 520 and the input device 526 may beimplemented together as a touch-screen interface. In such embodiments,the sync option may be presented on the touch-screen interface, and auser may select the sync option by touching the sync option on thetouch-screen interface.

FIG. 6 is a simplified perspective view of a caption device 602. Thecaption device 602 may include a housing 630 configured to enclose thecontrol circuit 512 and the transceiver 514 (FIG. 5). The caption device602 may include a handset 628 comprising a microphone 616 and a speaker618. The caption device 602 may also include a display 620, and an inputdevice 626. In some embodiments, the display 620 may be flush with thehousing 630.

The display 620 may be configured to display a caption corresponding atleast to the far-end user's side of the conversation. The input device626 may be a menu button configured to present the user with menuoptions on a graphical user interface (GUI) on the display 620. Thedisplay 620 may be a touch screen display. Thus, the GUI may present thenear-end user with a sync option, which may be selectable by pressingthe corresponding location on the display 620. In some embodiments, thesync option may be selected by pressing a physical button. For example,the input device 626 may be a sync button that the user may select ifthe user desires to establish communication between the mobile device104 (FIG. 1) and the caption device 602. The input device 626 mayinclude both a sync button and a menu button.

FIG. 7 is a simplified flowchart 740 illustrating a method offacilitating a captioned conversation between a far-end user and anear-end user having a caption device 102, 202, 302, 402, 502, 602(FIGS. 1 through 6). For convenience, the reference numerals associatedwith FIG. 1 are used, but the method described herein is understood toapply to any of FIGS. 1 through 6.

At operation 742, communication between a far-end device 106 and amobile device 104 may be established. In some embodiments, establishingcommunication between the far-end device and the mobile device 104 maycomprise the mobile device 104 placing an outgoing call to, or receivingan incoming call from, the far-end device 106.

At operation 744, communication between the caption device 102 and themobile device 104 may be established. The communication may beestablished wirelessly responsive to a user selecting a sync optionpresented by one of the caption device 102 and the mobile device 104. Insome embodiments, wireless communication between the caption device 102and the mobile device 104 may be established automatically when theirpresence is recognized. In some embodiments, establishing communicationbetween the caption device 102 and the mobile device 104 comprisesoperably coupling the caption device 102 to the mobile device 104 with acable.

Establishing communication between the caption device 102 and the mobiledevice 104 may be performed prior to the far-end device 106 and themobile device 104 entering into a call.

At operation 746, the method may comprise establishing communicationbetween the caption device 102 and a relay service 108. If the captiondevice 102 and the relay service 108 are in communication, a text signalTEXT may be transmitted from the relay service 108 to the caption device102. The text signal TEXT may comprise a text transcript correspondingto a far-end voice signal FEV originating at a far-end device 106 incommunication with the mobile device 104. In some embodiments,establishing communication between the caption device 102 and the relayservice 108 may include receiving, at the caption device 102, the textsignal TEXT from the relay service 108. For example, receiving the textsignal TEXT from the relay service 108 may include receiving the textsignal TEXT at the caption device 102 directly from the relay service108. Also, receiving the text signal TEXT from the relay service 108 mayinclude receiving the text signal TEXT from the relay service 108through the mobile device 104. In some embodiments, establishingcommunication between the caption device 102 and the relay service 108may include routing the far-end voice signal FEV from the far-end device106 to the relay service 108 through the caption device 102. In someembodiments, establishing communication between the caption device 102and the relay service 108 may include routing the text signal TEXT fromthe relay service 108 to the caption device 102 through the mobiledevice 104.

At operation 748, the method may comprise displaying the text from thetext signal TEXT on the caption device 102. The text may be a textcaption of at least the far-end user's side of the conversation tosupplement the corresponding voice during real-time communication.

While certain illustrative embodiments have been described in connectionwith the figures, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize andappreciate that embodiments encompassed by the disclosure are notlimited to those embodiments explicitly shown and described herein.Rather, many additions, deletions, and modifications to the embodimentsdescribed herein may be made without departing from the scope ofembodiments encompassed by the disclosure, such as those hereinafterclaimed, including legal equivalents. In addition, features from onedisclosed embodiment may be combined with features of another disclosedembodiment while still being encompassed within the scope of embodimentsencompassed by the disclosure as contemplated by the inventor.

Claims what is claimed is:
 1. A communication system, comprising: acaption device configured to: establish communication with a mobiledevice; receive a text signal originating at a relay service, the textsignal corresponding to a transcript of a far-end voice signaloriginating at a far-end device; and display a text captioncorresponding to the text signal on a display of the caption device. 2.The communication system of claim 1, wherein the caption device isfurther configured to route the far-end voice signal from the mobiledevice to the relay service.
 3. The communication system of claim 1,wherein the caption device is configured to receive the text signal fromthe relay service directly.
 4. The communication system of claim 1,wherein the caption device is configured to receive the text signal fromthe relay service through the mobile device.
 5. The communication systemof claim 1, wherein the caption device is configured to establishcommunication with the mobile device responsive to a user input.
 6. Thecommunication system of claim 1, wherein the caption device furthercomprises a sync button, and wherein the caption device is furtherconfigured to at least one of establish communication with the mobiledevice responsive to a detection of a user selecting the sync button. 7.The communication system of claim 1, wherein the caption devicecomprises a transceiver configured to: establish the communication withthe mobile device; and receive the text signal.
 8. The communicationsystem of claim 7, wherein the transceiver comprises a wirelesstransceiver.
 9. The communication system of claim 7, wherein thetransceiver comprises an electrical connector configured to operablycouple with the mobile device through a cable.
 10. The communicationsystem of claim 7, wherein the caption device further comprises an inputdevice configured to detect a selection of a sync option, wherein thetransceiver is configured to establish communication with the mobiledevice responsive to the selection of the sync option.
 11. A method offacilitating a captioned conversation between a far-end user and anear-end user having a caption device, the method comprising:establishing communication between a caption device and a mobile device;and establishing communication between the caption device and a relayservice for communicating a text signal between the relay service andthe caption device, the text signal comprising a text transcriptcorresponding to a far-end voice signal transmitted to the mobile devicefrom a far-end device.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein establishingcommunication between the caption device and the relay service includesreceiving, at the caption device, the text signal from the relayservice.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein receiving the text signalfrom the relay service includes receiving the text signal at the captiondevice directly from the relay service.
 14. The method of claim 12,wherein receiving the text signal from the relay service includesreceiving the text signal from the relay service through the mobiledevice.
 15. The method of claim 11, further comprising routing thefar-end voice signal from the far-end device to the relay servicethrough the caption device.
 16. The method of claim 11, furthercomprising routing the far-end voice signal from the far-end device tothe relay service through the mobile device.
 17. The method of claim 11,further comprising displaying the text transcript as a text caption on adisplay of the caption device.
 18. The method of claim 11, furthercomprising: terminating communication between the caption device and themobile device; and establishing communication between another captiondevice and the mobile device.
 19. A communication system, comprising: arelay service configured to: receive a far-end voice signal from atleast one of a caption device and a mobile device while the captiondevice and the mobile device are in communication with each other, thefar-end voice signal originating at a far-end device in a call with themobile device; and transmit a text signal comprising a text transcriptcorresponding to at least the far-end voice signal to the captiondevice.
 20. The communication system of claim 19, wherein the relayservice is further configured to transmit the text signal directly tothe caption device.
 21. The communication system of claim 19, whereinthe relay service is further configured to transmit the text signal tothe caption device through the mobile device.
 22. A communicationsystem, comprising: a mobile device configured to: establishcommunication with a caption device; receive a far-end voice signaloriginating at a far-end device; and transmit the far-end voice signalto a relay service configured to generate a text signal comprising atext transcript corresponding to the far-end voice signal.
 23. Thecommunication system of claim 22, wherein the mobile device is furtherconfigured to transmit the far-end voice signal to the relay servicethrough the caption device.
 24. The communication system of claim 22,wherein the mobile device is further configured to: transmit the far-endvoice signal directly to the relay service; receive the text signal fromthe relay service; and transmit the text signal to the caption device.25. The communication system of claim 22, wherein the mobile device isfurther configured to: receive a near-end voice signal from the captiondevice; transmit the near-end voice signal to the far-end device; andtransmit the far-end voice signal to the caption device.